While the New England Patriots are facing questions along the offensive line heading into Week 4, their opponent has none of those issues. The Buffalo Bills have been a model of stability up front, and are set to go with the same starting five on Sunday they have used all season.
The consistency in personnel is not the only reason why Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel highlighted the unit this week.
“I think the line is a very underrated part of what they do,” Vrabel told reporters at the Gillette Stadium
podium on Wednesday. “It’s been a very consistent unit, one that knows how to block for not only the running back, but also for the quarterback.”
Even though the Bills changed their head coach, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach this offseason, they did not touch the O-line itself. As a result, it has remained largely in place: four of the five starters — LT Dion Dawkins, C Connor McGovern, LG O’Cyrus Torrence, RT Spencer Browns — have been brought back from last year.
In fact, the quartet has started alongside one another going back to the 2023 season.
The lone exception is Alec Anderson, a do-it-all backup last year who was elevated to the left guard spot after David Edwards signed a four-year, $61 million deal with the Saints in free agency. Anderson, however, has also been with Buffalo since entering the NFL in 2022.
For comparison, no Patriots offensive lineman has been with the team that long. The longest-tenured member of the group is backup interior lineman Ben Brown, who joined in 2024. The longest-tenured regular starter, Mike Onwenu, went on injured reserve last week, handing over that particular title to 2025 free agency signing Morgan Moses. Moses, of course, has yet to practice this week because of a foot injury.
The state of the two offensive lines is only one of the reasons why Buffalo is 3-0 entering Sunday’s game with a 1-2 Patriots team that has performed well-below expectation.
“They’re really successful in a lot of things they do,” added Vrabel.
“They rarely punt — five punts in three games. Josh [Allen] does a fantastic job of being able to extend plays. The linemen do a fantastic job of understanding the scheme that they want to run and creating lanes for [James] Cook, who again, once he gets cooking — no pun intended, but they’re just tough to stop, right? Because then it’s play action, it’s boots. And so, it just makes it tough to stop.”
